Amman- 20 June 2022
Following the MENA Europe Future Energy Dialogue (MEFED) in Jordan and an invitation by H.M. King Abdullah II, H.E. German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck, visited the German Jordanian University (GJU) for talks with faculty, university and industry partners and especially students on the topics of green energy, entrepreneurship and employability in Jordan and Germany.
Visiting GJU’s newly founded Deanship for Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship (DI-TECH), BM Habeck pointed out that his two-days-stay in Jordan not only focused on green energy but also on education for entrepreneurship, innovation and employability. He called GJU a highlight in the systematic bilateral collaboration between Jordan and Germany for mutual benefit.
During his meeting with GJU graduates, the Minister described them as “impressively highly qualified”. He reported that H.M. King Abdullah II had described GJU “as a unique success story that is not comparable in the region”. Germany would profit, too, from highly qualified GJU graduates joining the German labor market where there is a shortage of skilled labor (e.g. in the energy and electricity sector). This was underlined by the representatives of the Hikma, who has branches among others in Jordan and Germany and is partnering with GJU in many aspects, as well as Rockware, a German IT-Company that establishes an offshore branch at GJU to closely collaborate with students and faculty.
The entrepreneurship and innovation culture promoted by the GJU as well as the career prospects of the students were the focus of an interactive discussion on eye-level the Vice Chancellor engaged in with students.
The students praised GJU as an excellent opportunity to prepare for working in Germany and in the international labor market. In return, the Minister pointed to Germany’s high demand in skilled labor immigration.
In the discussion, legal and procedural barriers for taking up a job in Germany with a foreign university degree were identified. The minister offered to discuss the students' concerns within the Federal Government. The visit once more underlined the significance of GJU for the binational relationship between Jordan and Germany.
Furthermore, a new dimension was added in this regard with the President of GJU Prof. Dr. Alaaldeen Al-Halhouli and the President of the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt Prof. Dr. Robert Grebner signing a Memorandum of Understanding for establishing three hosted programs at GJU in the fields of Hydrogen Technology, Robotics and Social Work.
